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All the Kremlin's Men

Inside the Court of Vladimir Putin

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About this listen

 An extraordinary behind-the-scenes portrait of the court of Vladimir Putin, the oligarchs that surround it, and the many moods of modern Russia that reads like a "real House of Cards"(Lev Lurie).

All the Kremlin's Men is a gripping narrative of an accidental king and a court out of control. Based on an unprecedented series of interviews with Vladimir Putin's inner circle, this book presents a radically different view of power and politics in Russia. The image of Putin as a strongman is dissolved. In its place is a weary figurehead buffeted -- if not controlled -- by the men who at once advise and deceive him.

The regional governors and bureaucratic leaders are immovable objects, far more powerful in their fiefdoms than the president himself. So are the gatekeepers-those officials who guard the pathways to power-on whom Putin depends as much as they rely on him. The tenuous edifice is filled with all of the intrigue and plotting of a Medici court, as enemies of the state are invented and wars begun to justify personal gains, internal rivalries, or one faction's biased advantage.

A bestseller in Russia, All the Kremlin's Men is a shocking revisionist portrait of the Putin era and a dazzling reconstruction of the machinations of courtiers running riot. Politics & Government Russia Russian & Soviet World Soviet Union War Military Imperialism Iran Middle East Socialism
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Listening to this in April 2022 two months after Russia invaded Ukraine - again. But this time in much great scale having ability to learn historical events leading up to present time put perspective why Russia behaves like it behaves and most importantly why West view of Russia was to put it mildly naive.

Insightful and fascinating

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Very good, but it seems to me the book does not discuss the importance of corruption in Russian as a motive of many decisions and as a tool to rule the country.

Very good

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Narration was rubbish, but a very insightful story of Putin and his Siloviki. I wish there was another version, without the narrator trying to do a russian accent.

Narration

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Eye opening accounts of the Russia from the 1990s till 2016. It is rare to find independent journalistic reports of Russia and this book is one of them. A must read it you're interested in world politics with Russia in mind.

Excellent summary of the modern Russian scene

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one criticism. if you don't speak Russian don't try to pronounce quotes in English with russian accent. fails miserably and distracting.

Other than that, very entertaining.

accents

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